VisitBritain Launches Love is Great in the US

The VisitBritain push includes a nationwide competition so fans can experience the array of choices the UK provides for LGBT travellers.

As part of the Love is Great campaign launched by VisitBritain, the UK government will participate in local Pride events in 10 cities across the United States to highlight the United Kingdom as a champion of LGBT equality and global leader in human rights across policy, business, arts and culture, and tourism.

The destination is proud to be recognised as one of the most progressive countries in the world for said movement and a welcoming stop for all. Between June and October 2016, the British Embassy Washington, the UK Mission to the UN, and each of the eight British Consulates will participate in events across their consular regions.

The cities involved include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. The territory represents the first foreign government to participate in Pride on such a significant scale. The British Embassy comes on board for a fourth consecutive year in DC.

In 2015, the British Ambassador was the first ever ambassador to walk in the parade. Also last year, the UK received the highest score in Europe for LGBTI rights, with 86 percent progress toward ‘respect of human rights and full equality,’ according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association.

The country has had civil partnerships for more than a decade, and equal marriage passed in 2014, under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Eleven years before that, same-sex couples were granted equal rights to adopt. Since 2005, trans-genders have been able to change their legal gender in the UK.

The move allows for the group to receive a new birth certificate, affording those involved full legal recognition of their acquired sex. Today, there are 35 LGB MPs in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which in 2016, was the most in any parliament around the world.

The work of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports the aforementioned commitment to LGBT equality in British diplomatic posts worldwide, including the British Embassy Washington and British Consulates in eight cities across the US.

The FCO is proud to have a number of LGBT Heads of Mission posted around the world, including in countries such as Greece, Israel, Mauritius, and Ukraine. This year marks the 25th anniversary of FLAGG (Foreign Office Lesbian & Gay Group), which actively works to ensure that being LGBT is no barrier to a successful career in the FCO. In 2016, the US network has worked to launch FLAGG USA.

Meanwhile, rolled out by the national tourism agency, the campaign welcomes the new same-sex marriage law in England, Wales, and Scotland, and reinforces the fact that Britain is an all-embracing choice for LGBT visitors, with unique experiences, from city breaks to countryside escapes.